Never Would I Ever
by AllTooSure
Summary: Henry is taken to Neverland a few years later, after his abilities as the author have begun to surface. Pan changes his plans to take advantage of Henry's new found power. Will Emma and the others be able to put a stop to it all before Pan succeeds?
1. Never Would I Ever

The heart of the truest believer, the recorder of fates and heir to one of the most powerful thrones in the Enchanted forest. Even Pan, whose unwavering faith in the youth of the world defined him, could hardly believe that all that power belonged to the downhearted but admittedly dapper twelve year old boy who sat before him.

Henry was an odd sort. Pan could feel that thirst for adventure brimming in the boy, he could even detect a sense of desire to join in whenever the boys announced the start of a new game. His head would pique up, his eyes would get that glistening look of excitement. Yet, despite Pan's attempts to get him to play, he remained sitting, by himself, at the deserted campsite.

It was frustrating. The worst kind of frustrating, really. The type that only exists because the parties involved will it into being.

Pan remained confident, though, that Henry could give him what he wanted and he was so excited by the new information he had acquired about the boy that the sight of him once again abstaining from another game, caused him only to shake his head.

He fiddled with the twig like object in his hand, twirling it around his fingers and smirked wider. It almost felt like cheating, how easy this would be, and for a moment Pan lamented the the loss of risk that went with this change in plans. But the stakes were too high to allow for more chance of failure then absolutely necessary.

He crept up behind the boy. Walking slowly toward him with mischievous grin on his face. Standing directly behind Henry and he still hadn't noticed. The boy would really have to work on that if he was ever going to be a full fledged lost boy.

Unceremoniously, he dropped the object in front of Henry, who jumped slightly in surprise.

Pan snickered at the sight of Henry's anxious movements. It was always fun to watch him squirm. Keeping in the moment, he took a seat close to the boy who edged away from him and picked up Pan's offering.

"What's this?" Henry said, picking up the object carefully, as if worried it would suddenly gain life and bite him.

"It's a quill.." Pan deadpanned.

Henry shot him a look of exasperation. Obviously Henry knew it was a quill but what was becoming even more clear to the boy was that Pan had no intention of making this easy for him.

"Yeah, okay what do you want me to do with it? Write a ransom letter?"

Pan smirked and cocked his head to the side, as he was prone to do in manipulative conversations.

"Hm no. it'll be something much more prolific than that. You're a special boy, Henry. Even more so then I first imagined. You have the power to save me, save Neverland, with just the flick of your wrist."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid, Henry. You're far too clever for that. You're the author. You write it and as long as you use the right tools, it comes true. Not just on Neverland but every where."

"The apprentice told me I shouldn't abuse power and anyway, I can't write anything that benefits me."

"A mere won't benefit you, not directly at least. You'll be saving me and the lost boys and Wendy. Your position will stay the same unless someone comes to save you."

"I am not doing it. I broke the quill for a reason, I can't have anyone being hurt because of something I wrote."

"But you can have people getting hurt because due to your inaction. That's a great deal better ." At that Pan crouched down to sit directly in front on Henry and placed a hand on his shoulder

"Henry, If you don't do this I promise you countless people will die."

"Because you'll kill them?"

"I won't have to. Neverland is dying, Henry. If it goes it will take everyone, the lost boys, the darlings, your family, everyone with it."

Henry bit his lip. He knew how important being the author was even though he was just a teenager. Since the Apprentice told him he couldn't bring his father back, he'd never once been tempted to write in a change.

"What do you want me to write".

Pan smirked.


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, so you remember the signal?" Henry called out to another teen boy decked in forest green and patches of brown.

"Yeah, I remember. You shoot the bird out of the sky, it falls to the ground and then I drop the cage. Boar is caught. We win."

"Wait. You have to wait two minutes from when the bird hits the floor to when you drop the cage otherwise you'll scare the boar off."

"Yeah, yeah. I think I can remember to drop a cage. How do you know you'll hit it?"

"I've been practicing. And anyway I am really good with a bow. It runs in my family."

"You said the same about the sword and I remember how that turned out."

"Are you going to drop the cage or am I going to have to do it myself?"

The other boy continued talking despite Henry's questioning.

"I don't think you even remember your family anymore. Your stories change every night. One day the Evil Queen's your mom and the next it's the savior."

"I told you I have two mothers. And you'll see when they come and find me."

The lost boy looked at Henry skeptically.

"Just focus on waiting for my signal." Henry said, preparing the bow to take aim.

He crouched in the grass, watching the boar as it stalked the Neverbird. Neverland altered people, that much was obvious from the stories the lost boys told each other not to mention the changes he saw in himself, but as time went on Henry wondered if Neverland altered the animals too. Did boars hunt birds in the Land Without Magic? That must have, right? Otherwise, the entire place would be overrun with Neverbirds.

He didn't want to admit but the other lost boy's comments had struck closer to the truth then Henry wanted to admit. In the months that he had been in Neverland, he was beginning to forget his life prior to being kidnapped. He could remember Storytown, and that it had a big clock that floated in the air (did that make sense?) but he couldn't remember how he got to school every day or who was in his class. He knew there was a place he liked to eat at but he couldn't ever think of the name.

The two truths that stood out, crystal clear in his mind was that one, he had a family who loved him. And two, the savior, his mother, was coming to save him. Despite all of Pan's efforts to break the boy's belief in these two fundamental facts, he knew them to be true no matter how much of a lost boy Pan tried to make him into, with hunting parties and muted pipe songs.

Henry waited until the Neverbird was perched in a tree, preparing itself to sing its famous tune. He drew the bow and took aim at the creature, letting the string of the bow fall from his grip and sending the arrow cascading towards the bird. It the creature in the middle of its chest so quickly that Henry could have sworn he heard the first chords of its song begin even with the arrow pierced through its heart. The boy slowly picked himself off of the ground, counting down the two minute wait in his head.

Suddenly the thundering footsteps of a group of three or so lost boys echoed throughout the forest just in time to ruin his hunt. Henry groaned as the boar took off, away from the laddish banter coming from the boys. His team mate shot Henry a sympathetic look, before jumping off the branch where he was perched and joining the boys in a parade of obnoxiousness.

Henry fumed to himself. He didn't know why he cared so much about catching this stupid animal, but for some reason, it seemed so important to him. And more than that, he felt this internal desire to, like, impress Pan? Henry frowned to himself. That couldn't be right. He hated Pan. He was the only person Henry had ever wished died, and Henry couldn't give a damn what he thought. But still, the image of Pan smiling and proud of Henry, like the older brother he never had, played in Henry's mind, calling out to him. Henry shook his head. This island, and its inhabitants, could seriously mess with your head if you let them.

He walked towards the Neverbird, figuring that he might as well bring something back to the camp, when he heard another set of footsteps emerging from the forest. These ones were lighter than the ones before. Definitely only one person. Someone agile and quick, not stomping around Neverland but creeping.

The boy took cover behind the thickest tree, where he could spy the intruder with a cover of his own to protect him. He saw an arm first. It was holding a small sword, and had a series of thin rope wrapped around the wrist. Despite the obvious presence of muscles, it somehow looked more delicate than any of the lost boy's arms. Next, he saw long wisps of golden hair, catching the light as it dangled in the wind. Henry's heart speed up.

He left the cover of the tree.

"Mom?!" He yelled out.

The head full of blonde hair flipped towards the sound revealing the scratched up, but still recognizable face of Emma Swan, Henry's mother.

"Henry!" She was just as overjoyed to be reunited with the son she had been looking for, for two whole months.

The boy ran full pelt into his mother, rocking her as he entered her embrace. She wrapped her arms around him tight, taking in the feeling of him back in her arms.

Henry curled his head into her shoulder, breathing calmly for the first time in weeks.

"I knew you'd find me. I knew it." He said, muffling his words in her torso.


End file.
